Portishead’s Beth Gibbons joins the Miraculous Love Kids for Joy Division and David Bowie mash-up
Beth Gibbons, the lead vocalist of trip-hop outfit Portishead, has lent her voice to a song in collaboration with Afghanistan’s the Miraculous Love Kids.
The singer teamed up with the group to record a mash-up of Joy Division’s ‘Atmosphere’ and David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’, marking two years since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan.
The Miraculous Love Kids was formed by activist Lanny Cordola, who writes on the website that the project’s “aim is to teach the guitar to war-torn, poverty-stricken children, in particular young girls who have little to no rights and are often forced into marriage and face the most extreme forms of violence.”
The young members of the Miraculous Love Kids fled the country to Islamabad, Pakistan, where they joined the band. Since then, artists such as Nick Cave, Brian Wilson and Tom Morello have collaborated with them.
In a press release, Gibbons shared her joy to be working with the Miraculous Love Kids: “I was so honoured to guest on the Miraculous Love Kids’ reconstructed cover track ‘Atmosphere/Heroes,’ and to be a voice next to these brave and beautiful girls of Afghanistan.”
Cordola, who met Gibbons “just days after the Taliban takeover,” added, “She confirmed her support and extended a generosity of spirit to the girls that was invaluable as she is truly one of the great voices in the world today.”
“The words exemplify the plight of the harshly oppressed people of the world. In particular, the girls and women of Afghanistan, where the Miraculous Love Kids hail from.”
Listen below.
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